Friday 23 November 2012

Mirage of Success - I

Ms Suu Kyi & Mr. Barack Obama





The statement Ms Aung San Suu Kyi made on the first visit of American President Mr. Barack Obama will sure go down the history of annals, as one of the best quotes of this year. A cautious Ms Suu Kyi, welcomingMr. Obama at her home in Rangoon, said that "difficult years" still lie ahead for Burma, "I say difficult because the most difficult time in any transition is when we think that success is in sight. Then we have to be very careful that we are not lured by a mirage of success," she said. Her pragmatic remarks about the notion of success and peril of over enthusiasm set me thinking. Success, a very subjective concept, still every person in the society (or society at large) is measured against this yardstick. How this yardstick works, nobody has an idea.

The problem with the notion of success is that it doesn’t stop at achieving the coveted prize. You have not even finished accepting applause for the work well done, when voila! Like a cyber game entire scene transforms. You are presented with a rougher terrain, fiercer competition, difficulty level upped with success still smiling elusively at you from the other end of the scene. But unlike game, levels here never end. Your name seldom figures among top achievers. Every achievement becomes a stepping stone for the future achievements and many such milestones mark the road you travel. Even this illusionary success is not easy to court. Many players fumble on the way and many fail to get across the level when they are just a touch away from the finishing line. This was something Ms Suu Kyi was pointing at. Reasons can be many:

·        get easy on hard work required to achieve the target, I call it hare approach (remember hare and tortoise story).
·        throw caution to the wind in hurry to embrace the end result,
·        ignore the ‘frills’ that come attached,
·        get satisfied with the early smaller gains, ignoring the bigger picture.
·        the cost paid for success may cancel out the value gains. Money is rather (in)famous for creating a mirage of success, where many have lost everything like, health, love, relationships just to gain coveted bank balance, feeling empty in the end.   

Mirage of Success

If success gained may inflict a person with false sense of vanity, getting cheated by this mirage can make a person wander endlessly in the desert of self doubt.  Seldom people find a way out of it.  It takes a great equanimity of mind not to get dazed by this mirage and stay focused to achieve the ‘real’ target.






Picture taken from: www.rediff.com , guardian.co.uk

11 comments:

  1. That is a profound observation indeed, redolent of realities. I liked the comparison of life to games. "But unlike game, levels here never end..." How true, and may I add that unlike games, you can hardly press the restart button in life!

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    1. bang on! there is not reverse or reset button in life. Thanks for valuable comments!

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  2. the comparison of life to games and the hurdles and achievements that come your way and then ---time slips away

    You are absolutely right when you say
    "
    It takes a great equanimity of mind not to get dazed by this mirage and stay focused to achieve the ‘real’ target."

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    1. I am glad I was able to drive home the point! Thanks Rajni!

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  3. u shared truth of life,which people forget while racing for their desire success (money nd fame)nd when they reached their so called goal ,they left behind true success i.e health,peace nd happiness nd unfortunately there is no restart button in life.very well written.I like the comparison of Life with game.

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  4. A very insightful post indeed. You exemplified the whole scenario so aptly. Nice job friend :) Take care!

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  5. An absolutely great, insightful, write Meenakshi, which made me to marvel at it's psychological and behavioral correctness. Great job!

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    1. Thanks a ton, Mam, these precious words of appreciation I will always hold dear!

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  6. absolutely brilliant! damn, you write so well! but then again, more than the writing, it's the thought which makes it an exceptional read! moving onto part 2.

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